Apple Pressing 2013

Fall is the time when apples are ripe and ready to be pressed into juice that tastes like sunshine. Bill, Elli, and I visited Renee and John who do an apple pressing on their back deck each autumn. It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for learning how to turn apples into juice.

1. First the apples must be crushed into a slurry before they are pressed. It is best to use a variety of sweet and tart apples to get a more complex and interesting flavor. John had a mechanical grinder for this process and that saves a tremendous amount of work. The apples don’t need to be perfect but they shouldn’t be wormy or diseased.

3. John uses a hydraulic press that he controls with a foot bar that gradually pushes the weight upward. The apple juice flows into the tank through tubes. Spigots in the base of the tank are opened for bottling. Then we are ready to taste. Swish the juice around in your mouth so that the saliva helps with digestion and don’t drink too much. Otherwise you’ll experience some “urgent cleansing” that may not be pleasant.

Renee and John have created a beautiful and highly functional home. Bee hives, raised vegetable beds, grapes, and berry plants. I loved the metal sculptures that were tucked away throughout the landscape. The stone fountain wasn’t running but was still lovely and the fire pit arbor was a metal dome that I could imagine covered in blossoms earlier in the year.

2. A metal frame is used as a guide for each layer of apples. The cloth is wrapped around the apples to keep them in place but let the juice out. The layers are separated by metal grids and about 10 – 12 layers are built.